


Small

by Flightless_Bird



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst, Crying, Depression, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Other, but with happy ending, caring venom, references to bad eating habits/borderline disorder, venom is a big softie for his host
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 15:11:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18478810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flightless_Bird/pseuds/Flightless_Bird
Summary: “We want to help, Eddie.Eddie swallowed, and his voice came out rasping. “I dunno if you can this time, love.”





	Small

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is my first fic for these two, and it was definitely a vent fic. I had a bad day and I just wanted to see some sad eddie and Venom making him feel a little better. I hope you like it :)

Eddie was crying. Venom wasn't sure why Eddie was crying. Well, they could feel the sadness, of course they could, but it wasn't directing anywhere. It sat like a huge, icy ball atop Eddie’s shoulders, burning through his back to his chest and squeezing hard. Venom trembled under the weight of it, from their place curled, uncertainly protective around his heart. Quiet sobs heaved the ribcage around them, and when they reached up a tentative thread of sensation, they could feel the hot tears.

What was wrong? What could be so wrong to stop them from even leaving the apartment? They'd had an interview today, with a businesswoman, and Eddie even got kinda dressed up for it, all slacks and a nice, navy sweater over a button-down. He looked good, _they_ looked good, they'd _been_ _doing_ good. And now they sat hunched in this hallway outside the bedroom, crying.

Venom’s confusion and concern got the better of them. They materialized in a small, snakelike tendril over Eddie’s heart and then slipped over along his arm. They reached his arms folded over his face and nudged their nose against his forehead. _Eddie_? they asked, voice uncharacteristically soft between their minds. _What's wrong? Why aren't we leaving?_

Sniffling raggedly, Eddie rubbed his sleeve over his face. A glimpse of wet, red-swollen eyes made Venom sink a little. “It's nothin’, Vee,” he rasped. “‘M just havin’ a rough morning.”

 _But we are going to be late—and nothing has happened to hurt you. Unless it has?_ Venom coiled up in the air, baring miniature versions of their fangs to hiss. _Where is your injury, and the one who put it there? We do not feel it, but we will find it, and then we will find_ them _._

Laughing a bit—the tiniest exhale of amusement—Eddie raised his head from his arms to give Venom a weak, wobbly smile. “Nah, it's nothing like that. I promise. No shitheads for you to eat today.” He reached up to rub two fingers over Venom’s small head hovering before him. “Protective little parasite,” he murmured fondly.

Venom stuck out their tongue at him. Not _a parasite_.

“Right, _not_ a parasite.” Eddie’s smile faded and he glanced down, sniffing. “Sorry we missed our interview.”

_I do not mind. You never let us eat them anyway, even when they're annoying._

“Yeah, because I kinda need my job.”

Venom drifted closer and brushed his nose against Eddie’s. _What's happened to hurt you? Is it some sort of menstruation period? I read some online articles about such, but it seemed to be very focused on the female members of your species._

“Uh, no,” Eddie laughed half-heartedly, dragging a hand through his hair. “Nothin’ like that.” Sighing, he folded his arms over his knees again and rested on them. Tiny Venom floated before him, still connected by the black ink swirling up Eddie’s arm to his heart. It felt warm. “D’you ever just get…sad?” he asked quietly. His throat wanted to close up and he swallowed thickly. “Like, really fuckin’ sad?”

_Yes, that has happened, but not for a long long time. Not since we got here._

“Lucky,” Eddie mumbled.

Venom watched him sniff and wipe his eyes. … _what can we do?_

“I already told you, no one to beat up this ti—”

 _We know. But—_ In a slow gust of sound and ink, Venom spilled from Eddie’s chest to materialize in front of him. They were connected by spider-strings of pitch, grasping at Eddie’s shoulders and arms. Without their full symbiosis, Venom wasn't as monstrous, but still had more height and width than Eddie, albeit less solid at the edges. They kneeled before him and touched his forehead with careful fingertips; sometimes when he was upset, Eddie didn't like to be touched and they didn't want to push. They tipped their head to the side in quiet concern, as Eddie gazed up at them in a mix of surprise and sadness. _We want to help, Eddie._

Eddie swallowed, and his voice came out rasping. “I dunno if you can this time, love.”

Venom simply reached out and took Eddie’s chin with a hand, soft. Coaxing his head up, they let tendrils spiral up from their fingers over his jaw, and up into his hair. A slow sigh exhaled between the two of them. _Let us help_ , they murmured, purring comfortingly through their bond. _We know we’re a lot sometimes. But we can be—small, too._ They weren't sure how else to put it for him, as they'd never tried anything remotely gentle in their lives. But they stroked his hair again at the word _small_ , and tear-bright, blue eyes met theirs in consent.

“Okay, Vee. Whatever you want.”

They were pleased, but the resignation that they would fail was evident in Eddie’s voice. They would not have that.

Sinking back into Eddie’s body, Venom curled themselves around him from neck to toe; they paused just beneath his jaw to send the question across their minds, and received his answer at once. Venom made it a habit of asking now before taking over control in this way.

They formed fully over Eddie then and stood, their black hulk taking up much of the hallway. Venom glanced around in this new presentness with the world, feeling Eddie sit within them like an ache. That wouldn't do.

Determined, they left the hall in thumping strides and got to work.

 

**XXX**

 

When Eddie was permitted to take control again, he found himself in bed. He wasn't at all surprised. Venom had learned very quickly that Eddie associated relaxation with this. What did surprise him, however, was just how well Venom knew him—not just the biggest parts of him, but the smallest. The TV was on, volume low, a favorite movie humming in the background. His laptop sat on the mattress next to him. He managed a smile at that one: sometimes he liked to vent-write when he was in a mood and Venom often loved reading those after. He'd changed too, into sweatpants and an old hoodie, worn soft with age.

But none of these things were what really got him. What got him, and kept him breathless, were the items placed delicately on his nightstand.

Granola bars, a tall glass of water, and two bottles of pills.

Eddie stared at them for a long moment. Then he reached out with shaky fingers and pulled the bottles toward him. One of Ibuprofen, probably for any crying-induced headaches.

The other were his old antidepressants, the ones he'd stopped taking after meeting Venom.

 _You should drink_.

Venom poked their head out of his chest and Eddie almost threw the pills across the room.

“ _Shit_ ,” he croaked, his sob-weakened voice ruining any effect. “You gotta stop doing that so fast, Vee.”

 _You're supposed to drink that_ , Venom replied without care. _You've cried a lot. Humans get dehydrated._

“You already know that or did you google sad human crap for me?” Eddie quirked a brow teasingly, taking the water glass from the table and putting the bottles back.

Venom didn't answer until he'd downed half the glass. _Both. Some things we knew, others we did not_. They wrinkled up the place between their eyes, the equivalent of scrunching up a nose. _The internet said to play rom-coms, but we find them disgusting. Alien is better._

“Good call on that one,” Eddie agreed. He dropped a hand to the blanket and picked at it.

Sensing his hesitation, Venom peered up at him. _Is there something we've gotten wrong? We can fix it._

Eddie’s throat suddenly felt tight again. “No, no, it's not that. It's just…um.” He pointed to the nightstand. “The medicine. How'd you know…?”

 _The internet said “Ibuprofen” was used for headaches, and you get those after crying,_ Venom recited proudly. _And the others are yours, but we weren't sure you'd want to start them again. They were behind the dresser though, so we found them for you._

Behind the dresser. They hadn't just found them, they'd had to have _looked_. Eddie wondered why this meant so much to him. Venom had probably just looked through his head after all, and seen him taking them in memories. That was it, right?

He still didn't understand the other thing though. “What about the food?” he asked. “I don't know if I can handle eating after crying, bud. I never have.”

_Yes, because when you're depressed for long periods, you try to stop eating._

And this was different.

Eddie took it like a punch to the gut. He watched Venom watching him, bright eyes questioning, and he felt himself start to get choked up again. Because this was something that he recognized as true, looking back. But it hadn't been something he'd known about himself, been fully conscious of.

But Venom knew. And Venom wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Even if it had been only one day, one bad spell.

“Oh,” he breathed, and his vision swam.

Venom ducked their head back into him and he felt dark tendrils twine up to brush over his cheeks. More ran over his hair, almost loving, and Eddie shuddered back a sob.

“Sorry,” he hiccuped, dimly ashamed as new tears began to spill over.

Venom didn't speak, but let a flood of warm reassurance flood through their bond. More touches stroked over Eddie’s eyelids and swept away any wetness beneath.

Eddie felt so much for them, it was stupid. The fact that he couldn't control it made his wrecked emotions worse, made him almost hate himself for it. He was a grown man, sobbing over an alien taking care of him.

“Venom?” he whispered.

_Yes, Eddie?_

“Um.” Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, scared of the weight of this, but it just fell out of him. “I—uh—love you.” It was tiny, and tearstained, and he felt vaguely like the loser Venom had called him so long ago.

But then he jerked as a cool solidness formed against his hand, and he recognized the fingers curling between his own. _Eddie_ , Venom purred, drawing out the last syllable a bit and branching from his hoodie, to slide blackness along his legs and sides and chest, _we have always loved you_.

Eddie was most definitely crying again, letting go of Venom’s hand to drag his sleeves over his face. The darkness pooling on top of him shaped into Venom’s head again, poking out of his chest. _Is something—?_

“ _No_ ,” Eddie gasped, wrapping the blob-likeform in his arms and clinging to them. A contented rumble vibrated against him and Venom nuzzled further into his shoulder. They shaped a torso, strong arms bundling Eddie up, and then their full head, with that devil’s grin, tamed. Eddie held on even tighter and buried his head in the crook of Venom’s bulky shoulder. “Do y—you have… _any_ idea—?” he choked out.

 _We know, we know_ , Venom murmured, tenderly nosing Eddie’s hair.

“Nobody's ever…”

_Never alone again. Eddie, my Eddie._

Eddie’s next sob tangled with a watery smile, unbidden. To have someone to talk to was one thing, but to have his symbiote, his Venom, was entirely different, was like having someone share your heart even when it stopped.

He could think of nothing else to say, so he just held Venom close and let the stream of soft _I love you_ seep between their shared hearts.

They would be okay.


End file.
